Familiar Faces To Contend For Super Bowl Title

There’s one thing for certain about Super Bowl XLV–there won’t be any ‘first timers’ competing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy on February 6 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.  All four of the remaining teams–the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers–have not only played in a Super Bowl previously but have all won a championship in the ‘modern era’ since 1966.
 
If history is any indication, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the team to beat.  They’ve played in 7 Super Bowl games, and should they make it this year they’ll tie the Dallas Cowboys by most all time appearances.  More impressively, the Steelers are 6-1 in Super Bowls–the six wins is the most by any team just ahead of the Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers with 5 wins each.  The 49ers, incidentally, are a perfect 5-0 in their Super Bowl appearances. 

The Green Bay Packers have also had their share of Super Bowl success with three victories in four appearances.  The Vince Lombardi coached Packers won the first two Super Bowls ever, and they added another championship in 1997.  They were upset the following year by John Elway and the Denver Broncos in their last Super Bowl appearance to date.
 
The Chicago Bears and New York Jets have only one Super Bowl victory apiece, but both were very significant in the annals of NFL history.  The Jets won Super Bowl III in 1969, upsetting the heavily favored Baltimore Colts after a brash prediction of victory by QB Joe Namath.  The Bears lone  victory would come in Super Bowl XX, but that Mike Ditka coached 1985 Chicago team featuring Walter Payton, Jim McMahon and Mike Singletary is considered by many (present company included) to be the greatest team in NFL football history. 

Only four current NFL teams have never played in a Super Bowl–the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.  In addition, there are 10 teams that have played in at least one Super Bowl but have never won pro football’s biggest prize.  The Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings are the co-holders of the all time record for Super Bowl futility, with four appearances each without a win.  The Bills did the Vikings one better, appearing in four consecutive Super Bowls from 1990 through 1993.  The fact that these Bills teams had to be extremely good to win the AFC four straight times has been all but forgotten in the wake of their repeated failure to win the big game.
 
Other teams without a Super Bowl victory are the Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals, who’ve made two appearances without a win.  One time Super Bowl participants without a victory are the San Diego Chargers, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals.